Venetian blind



April 3, 1951 J; J. FOGLIO I 2,547,260

VENETIAN BLIND Filed Feb. 9, 1949 FIG.

Y lNl/ENTOR By JAMES .1 FOGL/O A TTOlQ/VEV Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED STATE i di'iENi iFlC VENETIAN BLIND James Foglio, New Rochelle, N. Y.

Application February 9, 1949, Serial No. 75,315 6 Claims. (01. 160-458) This invention relates to Venetian blinds consisting of a plurality of relatively long thin slats and a thicker lower slat suspended by tapes, which have a cord passing through openings in e the intermediate slats and aifixed to the lower slat for raising and lowering the slat assembly, a til'iing bar being provided at the topof the assembly to which the upper ends of the tapes are connected so that on rotation of the tilting bar the slats may be tilted at different angles to control the amount of admitted light.

In the Venetian blind of the usual prior art type, the construction is such that the slats can be removed from the cords and tapes only on totall dismantling the blind. This constitutes a drawback to the general adoption of blinds because the householder cannot readily clean the slats as frequently as is desirable, for the reason that cleaning the slats in place is unsatisfactory due to the position of the tapes and the pull cords, and unless extreme care is taken, and even then, the tapes and cords become additionally soiled while the cleaned slats at best remain Streaky. Similarly when a slat breaks, or the householder desires to turn the slats due to uneven bleaching thereof by the sun, disassembly of the blind by a skilled factory worker is called for.

It is an object of the insiant invention to provide a Venetian blind of which the slats may be removed by the relatively unspecialized householder in a minimum of time, and may readily be reassembled in the cords and tapes as desired and properly.

It is a further objectto construct the improved Venetian blind with readily removable slats by the use of parts readily available on the market as compared to special parts having specifically to be made for such type of blinds and hence not readily available.

Still a further object is to permit of the ready conversion of prior art Venetian blinds to the improved type of this invention.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the description and accompanying drawings showing one form of my invention by way of illustration, in which,

, Figure 1 is an elevation, somewhat schematic, of a blind incorporating my invention, and Figure 2 is a partial section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

The head board 5 is attached by any of the usual means to the upper frame member of the 'window and the tilting bar 2 is supported therefrom by a bracket at either end, one of which includes the usual tilting worm gear means 3 readily actuated by the tilting cord 4. The pull cords 5, extending through openings in the tilting board and the slats 7, pass over the usual pulleys 6 within the head board I, and may readily be raised or lowered by the free end thereof, shown at the right of the blind in Figure 1. The adjusted height of the blind is maintained by the usual clamping device l9. Laterally to the front and back of the openings in the slats for the pull cords 5, the tape 3 has a plurality of cross tapes 9, spaced at the desired slat interval, for supporting the respective slats. As in the prior art, the cross tapes 9 for a given slat are at the inner lateral sides of the respective pull cords 5 longitudinally of a slat, while for the immediately vertically adjacent slats the cross tapes are at the outer lateral sides of the cords longitudinally of the slats. The back portion of the tape 3, back in the sense that it is between the slats and the Window to which the blind is applied, is preferably permanently stitched, or oth rwise affixed, as at It, to each cross tape 9, while the front portion of each tape 8 is aflixed to the front ends of the cross tapes 9 by snap fasteners ii of any standard kind. Thus the householder, merely by running an extended finger up the inside of the front portion of the tapes 8, can readily unsnap the fasteners l and, when this is done for both of the tapes 8, the slats 1 will successively drop onto the bottom slat :2. It will be noted that with I this construction of the blind, the upper inner surface of the window to which the blind is applied, is readily accessible when the slats have so been permitted to drop, whereas with the prior art blinds such window surface was but awkwardly available by holding the blind from it with one hand and cleaning the window surface with the other hand. In the illustrated form of my invention shown, the front portion of each tape 8' is a continuation of the back portion of the tape, with the end of each front tape being attached detachably, for example by the snap fastener 58, to the top of the tilting bar 2. Thus the bottom slat l2 rests in the loop at the bottom of the tape 8 and, but for the cords 5, the slats l and the bottom slat l2 on which they are now stacked, could be removed for cleaning.

To permit the removal of the stacked slats, I terminate each of the pull cords 5 in a connector l5 having a ball chain it suspended therefrom, of the type generally employed for the extension pull chains for overhead electric lights. A U-shaped staple aflixes a rigid rod i l, of a length exceeding the height of the stacked slats, to the lower slat l2 and carries at its upper end the female connector l1 adapted to receive a ball !6. The

diameter of the rod I3, of the connectors l5 and I1, and of the ball chain 15, as also the size of the staple i3, are obviously such as to readily pass through the openings in the slats for the pull cords. Thus, when the slats have been stacked. the connector parts it, it, and ll, are readily accessible to the householder, who slips the ball 16 from the fitting ll, thus disconnecting each cord 5 and permitting removal of the stack. So that upon such disconnection, the connector 15 will not be drawn up into the head board 5 accidentally or otherwise, the connector i5 is of such length and rigid that even if the now free end of the cord tends to pass the first pulley 5 it encounters, the infiexible length of connector iii stops further motion, and connector 15 still extends from the lower surface of the head board to permit the householder readily to grasp it and draw it downwardly.

After cleaning or replacement of the slats, they are simply again stacked on the bottom slat 12 with the rods Hi at each end region in the slat openings, thus aligning the slats. As the connector I! is positioned above the top slat of the stack, the ball l5 for the appropriate connector ll is readily reinserted therein, the successive slats moved by the householder manually above their individual cross tapes 9, and the particular fastener H between the front end of the cross tape and the support tape is snapped closed, thus properly positioning the slat in the shade. It will be noted that after release of the stacked slats by the householder to move the individual slats upwardly to their positions and to snap the fasteners, the weight of the stacked slats is on the cords 5. The latter are thus taut, and therefore the cross tapes 9, without any further attention, are in their proper positions relative the cords 5, that is, staggered alternately on opposite lateral sides of the cords.

What I claim is:

1. In a Venetian blind including intermediate slats, a bottom slat, a supporting tape and a height regulating cord, means detachably connecting the regulating cord to the bottom slat comprising a rigid rod hinged to the bottom slat of a diameter substantially that of the cord, a female coupling element integral with the upper free end of the rod, and a male coupling element engageable with the female coupling element aiiixed to the lower end of the cord.

2. In a Venetian blind according to claim 1, a cross tape for each intermediate slat of which one end is permanently afiixed to the supporting tape while the other end thereof is detachably connected to the supporting tape, which other end when detached permits the intermediate slats to be stacked on the bottom slat, the rigid rod being of such length that the female coupling element is above the uppermost of the intermediate slats when so stacked.

3. In a Venetian blind including intermediate slats, a bottom slat, a supporting tape and a height regulating cord, a rigid rod of predetermined length supported by the bottom slat, a first coupling element integral with the upper end of the rod, a second coupling element engageable with the first coupling element at the lower end of the cord, a cross tape for each intermediate slat having one end permanently aflixed to the supporting tape, a snap fastener connecting the other. end of the cross tape to the supporting tape which when opened permits the intermediate slats to stack themselves upon the bottom slat, the predetermined length of the rod being such that the first coupling element is positioned just above the uppermost intermediate slat when the slats are stacked.

4. A Venetian blind including a head board, a tilting bar, a plurality of intermediate slats and a bottom slat, a cord for raising and lowering the slats, a tape from the tilting bar looped laterally about the intermediate slats and the bottom slat, a cross tape for each intermediate slat of which one end is permanently affixed to the tape and the other end disengageably joined to the tape, the cross tapes being from one side or" the looped tape to the other side thereof and at the predetermined slat interval from each other, an opening in each intermediate slat, a rigid rod of substantially the same diameter as the cord and of a predetermined length pivotally supported on the bottom slat, and detachable connector means for connecting the lower end of the cord to the upper end of the rod, the cord, rod and connector means being of. a diameter so as to be positioned within the openings in the intermediate slats.

5. A Venetian blind including a head board, a tilting bar, a plurality or" intermediate slats and a bottom slat, a tape of which one end is permanently anixed to the tilting bar and the other end detachably connected thereto, the tape forming a loop with flat sides about the intermediate slats and the bottom slat, a cross tape for each intermediate slat of the plurality and of which one end is permanently afiixed to the looped tape and the other end detachably connected to the looped tape, the cross tapes being disposed from each other at the predetermined slat interval along the vertical length of the looped tape, a cord for raising and lowering the slats, one element of a readily detachable connector means attached to the lower end of the cord, a guide rod attached to the bottom slat and of a length exceeding the stacked height of the intermediate slats, and the other element or" the readily detachable connector means attached to the upper end of the guide rod.

6. A Venetian blind according to claim 5 in which the tape end detachably connected to the tilting bar is the end of the tape portion more remote from the Window to which the blind is applied, the end of the cross tape which is detachably connected to the looped tape is the end more remote from the said Window, and the means for detachably connecting each tape end and the cross tape end comprises a snap fastener.

JAMES J. FOGLIO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,755 Herron May 14, 1946 2,043,501 Wood June 9, 1936 2,251,363 McGrew Aug. 5, 1941 

